Curious about our group and how it works? Read on for an overview.
What is this Group?
The idea of the color collaboration is that we use a theme and color palette, voted upon by the group, to create patterns for a large collection with a cohesive look.
All the patterns everyone submitted will be put in a Spoonflower collection, and everyone is encouraged to market the entire collection along with their own patterns they submitted. It’s a bit like the Design Challenges that Spoonflower hosts each week, but we have a unifying color palette making all the fabrics cohesive. A customer might like one fabric from one artist, and will be able to mix and match it with fabrics from other artists for their projects.
In theory, besides having fun creating art together with other artists, participating should boost your store’s reach because if even a small percentage of the participating artists market the collection along with their own fabrics, you’re going to reach a lot more people and hopefully make more sales.
How to Use This Group
- Make friends and network with other designers. Some of us are further along and some of us are just starting out but we are all on the same path and we can help each other move forward.
- Use the collections to increase the number of patterns in your portfolio. Commit to creating a certain number of designs for each color collaboration even if exceed the limit agreed upon by the group. You can always use these designs in your shop or market your own collections.
- Improve your skills. Can’t draw Christmas characters? Take a class, buy a book, look on YouTube for a tutorial. Always be improving.
- Learn to work to a brief. If a particular color collab doesn’t resonate with you, force yourself to find something you like about it and expand on that. After all, if you ever work with an art director, she will task you with a project and expect you to complete it.
- Keep the color palettes we use here on file for future designs. Learn what colors work with your design style and sell the best for you. Then use them more!
- Have fun!
Getting Started in the Group
- Please make an effort to read through the posts to get an idea about what we do here and what has already been talked about and decided upon. Click on the “Topics” link near the top of the page and read through the relevant ones, particularly the ones with the hashtags “pleaseread” and “gettingorganized”.
- Review the “History” post to find out which color palettes we’ve used in the past.
- Please find our Instagram thread and our shop thread and add your links.
- Please create posts that refer to the group collection activities ONLY. Everything else should go in the Main Chat.
The Design Process
In order to create a cohesive collection of patterns, please adhere to our guidelines. Remember, the idea is for a customer to be able to shop a group of designs that are similar to each other in theme and color.
Please agree to use only the colors chosen, along with tints and shades, and minimal use of black and white. You may use gradients. Use tints and shades sparingly to add highlights and lowlights to areas of one of the approved colors, keeping in mind the overall goal to create a cohesive collection. Ditto for black and white.
Please adhere to the theme chosen by the group for each collection. If we choose a Halloween theme, please do not submit an Easter design. Unless it’s an Easter egg zombie. Then okay. If you don’t like the theme, you can still participate! Create designs that go with any theme like polka dots, stripes, plaids or other coordinates.
Marketing the Collection
Everyone is encouraged to participate in the marketing efforts. After the due date for the patterns to be included in the collaboration, all the patterns everyone submitted will be put in a Spoonflower collection, and everyone should to market the entire collection along with their own patterns they submitted.
Marketing Actions
- Tag your designs on Instagram with our shared tags.
- Start a Pinterest board with all the collection designs.
- Create a Spoonflower collection with everyone’s patterns. Heart other people’s collections.
- Heart and comment on as many of the group designs as possible.
- Write a blog post for yourself or others about our project.
- post your designs on all social media.
- Set up IG reels with several designers’ work.
- Make a project with designs from the collection.
- Create mock-ups with the designs.
- Follow the instructions to have your designs added to our official Instagram account @spdcolorcollab in order to boost people’s posts/accounts in the IG algorithm.
Please participate as much as you can. There is no minimum requirement. Do what you can to the best of your ability.
Volunteers
Although technically we are all volunteers, the admin team will rely on group members to keep the process flowing smoothly. We have volunteers who run our Pinterest page, our Instagram feed, who reach out to makers, who help with our Spoonflower collections, just to name a few. When you join, please let us know where your skills lie and we can find a spot for you!
Timeline
We’ll do four collections quarterly per year. This is our current calendar, subject to change.
Join Us!
Interested in joining? Please visit our group on Facebook and request to join. Remember to answer all the questions! https://www.facebook.com/groups/spdcolorcollab